TWO million demonstrators bring Rome to a standstill yesterday in a
protest against terrorism and plans to curb workers' rights.

Trade unionists carrying thousands of flags turned the streets red
yesterday and packed into the Circus Maximus, scene of ancient
Rome's chariot races, in a show of force against Prime Minister
Silvio Berlusconi. The demonstration was also broadened into a protest
against political violence after the murder of his aide behind the plan
to make it easier for firms to sack staff. More than 9,000 buses and 60
trains helped bring union members from across Italy.

The demo was the biggest in recent Italian history - far larger
than one in 1994 against Berlusconi whose government collapsed shortly
afterwards, leaving him out of power until last year. The murder of
adviser Marco Biagi has raised fears of a return to the political
violence that scarred the country in the 1970s and 1980s.

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